I Meant It
by Misfit Writer
Summary: After Oliver's speech, Felicity can't help but feel insecure about the threat that keeps rolling around in her head. It's up to our favorite archer to put those doubts to rest. Missing scene in 2x13


I know it's been done a bunch already, but this is a missing scene from 2x13 after Oliver's speech. Just a little somethin' to get through the Olympics hiatus ;)

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Felicity watched Oliver's excruciating speech with tears burning the backs of her eyes. It had been so difficult to tell him the truth about his sister; Moira's threat echoed in her ears even as she had stared into Oliver's eyes and silently begged him not to hate her for what she was about to tell him. His face had gone pale and his eyes had searched hers as if searching her very soul. Before she was able to say anything more, Walter had summoned him to introduce his mother.

After the speech, Oliver posed with a smile that both she and Diggle knew to be false for family pictures, but when Moira reached for him Oliver used his catlike grace to slip out of reach and towards his team. Felicity could feel Diggle's confused stare, but she couldn't tear her eyes from the young billionaire stalking their direction. Without a word, Oliver strode past her with a gentle tug on her wrist and nod to Diggle. The three made their way down to the lobby without speaking. Felicity stopped at the bottom of the stairwell as the men continued towards the door. She was terrified that he was going to tell them that the team was done…that _she_ was done. She tried to convince herself that if she didn't go to the foundry with them, to the one place where they could all be themselves, he couldn't bring her world crashing around her.

She'd known the risk of Oliver hating her when she decided to tell him; his mother had made that risk abundantly clear when she'd confronted the woman about Thea. She'd tried to tell herself that Oliver wouldn't hate her, but there was Moira's voice again, swearing that he wouldn't forgive her for telling him the news that would tear his family apart. She would rather him find out now, from her, than finding out that she had known and kept it from him. He deserved so much more than what he'd been dealt since his return from the Island, but nothing so much as he deserved to know that he could trust the two people in his life who were most able to hurt him. He'd taken a great risk in choosing to let others in to his world, and she'd be damned if she compromised the trust she'd been given.

"Felicity." The tone of voice that Oliver used to murmur her name, like she was his anchor, drew her from her mental ramblings. She looked up when his hands gripped her elbows gently, and the concern in his eyes sparked hope. He reached up and brushed his thumb tenderly across her cheek, alerting her to the fact that she had apparently started to cry. "Hey…"

"Oliver, I'm sorry…I know I'm the last person you wanted to learn that from…I wanted your mom to be the one to tell you, but she refused and I couldn't just not say anything and let you find out some other way and then find out that I knew and didn't tell you. She told me that telling you would make you hate me, but I wouldn't be able to-"

Oliver silenced her by cupping his large, calloused hand over her lips gently. "I'm sorry…she said _what?!"_ he growled. The archer closed his eyes and took a deep breath, visibly struggling to reign in his anger. When he opened his eyes again, the affection in them brought fresh tears to Felicity's eyes and caught her breath in her throat. His hands gently cradled her face, ensuring that she couldn't pull her gaze from his. "Felicity, I told you that you _won't_ lose me. I meant it. You are one of the most important people in my life, and you are one of two people that I sincerely trust. You have the best heart of anyone that I know, and nothing you could tell me will change my opinion of you. Do you understand me? _I will _never_ abandon you_."

He stared into her eyes with striking intensity until she nodded, and they shared weak smiles. Oliver leaned forward and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, and wrapped his strong arms around her.

"Could someone fill me in on what's going on?" Diggle questioned, crossing his arms over his chest in an attempt to mask his worry. Oliver looked at his friend over Felicity's head and sent him a look that conveyed all of his reigned-in anger towards his mother. He gestured for his friend to get the car, and waited until they were driving towards the club before speaking.

"My mother has crossed too many lines…Walter asked Felicity to look into something of hers last year, and Felicity recently figured out that Thea…" His eyes drifted shut for a moment and he squeezed Felicity's hand. "Thea is Malcolm Merlyn's daughter. And apparently, when Felicity confronted her to give her the opportunity to tell me herself, my mother threatened her." As soon as they pulled up to the foundry, all three of them were out of the car and inside away from prying eyes and ears.

Felicity pulled away from him, shaking her head frantically, her lips moving a mile a minute before Digg could even respond. "Nonono Oliver, she didn't threaten me…she warned me that-"

"_Felicity_," Oliver growled, grabbing her shoulders to keep her from walking away. "Don't defend her…I know my mother well enough to know that whatever she said was a threat. Especially considering she knew as well as I do that I couldn't _ever_ hate you." With one final intense look and a firm squeeze of her shoulders, he returned his attention to Diggle, who looked shell-shocked. The archer sighed and dropped his hands to his sides so that Felicity could face Diggle as well. "Yeah, I know."

"Does Thea know?" When Oliver shook his head, he turned his gaze to the other member of their team. "We need to keep an eye on your mom for a while, Oliver. She's not going to let this go easily, and we don't know how far she's willing to go to lash out at the person she's going to hold responsible for the rift between you."

Felicity spun back around to face Oliver, her breath catching in her throat. His jaw clenched as he and Diggle had a silent conversation over her head. "We won't let anything happen to you, Felicity," Oliver finally murmured, trying to get his anger under control once more. His mother had single-handedly turned his life on it's head; not only had she lied to him about Thea's father, she had also tried to manipulate and threaten one of the most important people in his life.

Without another word, Felicity turned and hurried down the stairs to the Lair, her steps stuttering when she realized that Sarah wasn't there.


End file.
